Today’s starting running back, Doug Martin, entered the Bucs-Bears mess averaging 2.9 yards per carry.

That paltry number has fallen. [read more]

Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

The Bucs’ final drive of the first half made Joe want to slam his head against the glass of the press box window at Soldier Field.

It was bad enough the Bucs left way too much time running off the clock, it was quite another that Bucs quarterback Josh McCown played (again) like a rattled Pop Warner quarterback. [read more]

If Bucs fans were angry at the call late in the third quarter that turned the game in the Bears favor, you should have heard the reaction from Dashon Goldson. [read more]

Joe referenced in his “GameDay” preview that Lovie Smith’s hand-picked returner, Marcus Thigpen, fumbled last Sunday and likely would be a key to today’s game.

Thigpen sure was — and Joe suspects Thigpen’s Buccaneers career is over. Solomon Patton was fired in September for lesser crimes. [read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s daily nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida.

Who needs alcohol to calm your 2-9 nerves? Joe’s got real hope to share. [read more]

Joe’s still cleaning up the vomit after seeing Josh McCown sprint five yards backwards with the ball exposed only to have it smacked out of his hands for a critical Bucs turnover deep in Tampa Bay territory today.

Greg Schiano constantly preached to players that “the ball was the program.”

In 2012, not one Buccaneer caught a pass and fumbled it. Hands were incredibly sure, and ball security was everything, quarterbacks included.

[read more]

Safety Major Wright’s bad defense cost the Bucs early in the third quarter.

Though it didn’t matter in the long run, a whiff of fundamentals by Major Wright, who otherwise played fine football today, proved to be a major error in the Loss to the Bears at gloomy, rainy Soldier Field today.

It was the Bears’ first possession of the second half with the Bucs leading 10-0. Chicago marched down to the Bucs-3. There, the Bucs defense stiffened, forcing a 3rd-and-2. [read more]

Josh McCown continues to play like a rookie quarterback. Nothing new there.

Hours after the Bucs and McCown didn’t show up in Atlanta, Joe began screaming from rooftops — and WDAE-AM 620 microphones — to let Mike Glennon start the Bucs’ final 13 games.

It was the only thing that made a lick of sense at 0-3 with two division losses, and a 35-year-old inconsistent QB as the other option.

It still is. [read more]

A bad running game, bad quarterback play, bad hands, and lousy special teams will get you beat just about every time out.

That’s what happened to your beloved Bucs in Chicago today.

They imploded just before they took a 10-0 lead into halftime. And then got mowed down by 21 unanswered Bears points in the third quarter. [read more]

Comment here with fans all game long

Yes, Joe is in the windy city where it is rather pleasant (by Chicago standards). It is currently cloudy and 50 degrees. Windy (naturally) at Soldier Field near the banks of icy Lake Michigan. Consider when Joe flew in Friday, it was in the 20s.

As they say in the upper Midwest: Don’t like the weather? Just wait a few hours.

It was expected to rain all day today but, thus far, the rains have held off. There is a chance this game finishes without rain. When Joe walked up to the stadium around 9:30 a.m., Chicago time, there was a very light drizzle. [read more]

Other notable names are on the list. Doug Martin is not.

Bucs stud linebacker Lavonte David will miss today’s game against the Bears. A combination of a gimpy hamstring, the notorious terrible Soldier Field turf in Chicago, and expected rain (though none yet) all added up to the Bucs sitting the stud out. [read more]

It’s Joe’s game outlook

Buccaneers (2-8) at Bears (4-6)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. [read more]

Tampa Bay had six sacks last Sunday — six! — but everyone isn’t sold on the notion the Bucs repaired their pass rush. [read more]

Joe’s anxious to see how the Bucs will utilize Gerald McCoy against the Bears today.

Chicago has stud right guard Kyle Long, who was a Pro Bowler as a rookie last season, anchoring their veteran and sometimes shaky offensive line. [read more]

Darn good chance Doug Martin is active and playing today against the Bears.

His ankle is in good shape. He practiced all week. He sounded happy and ready on his radio show. And there’s motive.

[read more]

Crab-legs-stealing, BB-gun-shooting, obscenity-hollering, Heisman-Trophy-winning, national champion James Winston, the pride of Florida State University, continues to look like a much better quarterback prospect than Mike Glennon and Josh McCown.

It’s Joe’s regular nugget on the Jameis Watch, celebrating the best quarterback to wear No. 5 ever in the state of Florida.

Joe’s going to let a powerful quote to the talking here. [read more]

You asked for it, you got it. It’s the TV broadcast map for tomorrow’s game between the Bucs and the Bears, live from the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago.

If you are a resident of Florida or the greater Chicagoland area, there is a better than average chance you won’t have to run to a local bar or find someone with NFL Sunday Ticket to watch the game. [read more]

A telling moment for Joe while hanging out at One Buc Palace this spring was a 1-on-1 chat with Lovie Smith’s son, Buccaneers safeties coach Mikal Smith.

Joe asked the younger Smith, who’s in his late 30s, whether he wants to be a head coach and follow in his dad’s footsteps. [read more]

In these unsettled times of devastating Bucs losses, constant change and growing pains, Joe thought it would be wise to bring back THE OPTIMIST.

THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.

THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t. … Of course, THE OPTIMIST’s opinions are his alone and are not influenced by Joe. [read more]

Bucs super rookie Mike Evans went toe to toe with Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, this week.

Evans held his own under the national spotlight. [read more]

Joe received an interesting story in his e-mail box recently from noted St. Louis-based NFL writer Howard Balzer. While Balzer is a national football writer, he hangs out a lot at the Lambs facilities because, well, it’s in the same area he lives.

Rams starting guard Davin Joseph (who still calls Tampa home) was a popular Buccaneer for years– partly because he was a No. 1 pick, partly because of all the good things he did for folks in need, in particular, Tampa Bay high school football programs that received money from his foundation. [read more]